Prospect Info: New Jersey Devils 1st Round Pick: C Michael McLeod

[Emperoreddy]

Hes more of a playmaker but filthy passes? McLeod doesn't have a high offensive ceiling based on reports. Not sure he is going to be one of the high end offensive guys that creates a lot of offense.

I've read upside in the 50-60 points range and a floor of a 3C.

The kid seems to have plenty of sense for offense. He just has a poor shot and needs to slow down his game some.

 

[Devils Army]

I'm liking Boucher-McLeod-Wood

Sniper-2 way all around player-Power forward

 

[R8Devs]

That could very easily also describe a 3rd line center as well. Seems like a guy that could be either a 2nd or 3rd line player. Remember reading that his offensive upside isn't exactly the highest.

who are the other players on the board that have huge offensive upsides? If they took him with Keller and/or Jost on the board it would probably be questionable but all the top forwards went.


Pace+possession is what this guy brings I think it's good value considering the context.

 

[RSeen]

who are the other players on the board that have huge offensive upsides? If they took him with Keller and/or Jost on the board it would probably be questionable but all the top forwards went.


Pace+possession is what this guy brings I think it's good value considering the context.

I'm making a statement about the player, not the circumstances regarding the pick. The top 10 went pretty much worst case scenario for us. I have no issue with the pick there wasn't much else that seemed to be a better option there IMO.

 

[Emperoreddy]

It gives us a lot of good options down the middle.

Remains to be seen who will remain at center among Zacha, McLeod, and JQ. Could easily create a situation where Rico is forced back to wing and Zajac eventually gets pushed down.

 

[VoidCreature]

It gives us a lot of good options down the middle.

Remains to be seen who will remain at center among Zacha, McLeod, and JQ. Could easily create a situation where Rico is forced back to wing and Zajac eventually gets pushed down.

Center depth is a wonderful thing to have. When you know you have another guy who can come in and take the draw you can be more aggressive.

I think next year starts out with

Henrique
Zajac
Zacha

Down the middle, though in the future I fully expect it to be Zacha and McLeod as our main pivots. They're both big and they have great two-way games, too. Sounds like a good recipe for puck possession.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Center depth is a wonderful thing to have. When you know you have another guy who can come in and take the draw you can be more aggressive.

I think next year starts out with

Henrique
Zajac
Zacha

Down the middle, though in the future I fully expect it to be Zacha and McLeod as our main pivots. They're both big and they have great two-way games, too. Sounds like a good recipe for puck possession.

That is definitely the ideal and best case scenario for us.

Would make us really big and really fast down the middle.

A guy like Speers will slot in real nicely IMO on either of their wings.

 

[Group Chat Legend*]

This pretty much sums it up. The top 10 shook out in a way that completely hosed NJ.

Im happy with the pick, in my mind I think we made out like bandits (minus the top 4)

 

[HenriquesJawLine]

I'm excited about his zone entry stats, we have lacked guys that can gain the zone for a while

I will refer to this section as the “Michael McLeod Show”. He leads all players in entries per game, and crushed the rest of the field in controlled zone entries. He also lead all tracked forwards in zone exits, and all players in controlled zone exits. McLeod often takes the puck from the defensive zone, circling around once before exploding through the neutral zone, blowing past defenders and into the offensive zone. At times, you could feel the crowd and assembled scouts holding their breath as he curled in behind the net, knowing what was coming. At the junior level, this elite acceleration and explosiveness is unbelievable, but McLeod will face a harsh transition when he hits the pros, as the better competition will adapt quickly to this and force him to look for new ways to utilize his speed game. This was on display in the IIHF U18 World Championships, where McLeod used his speed throughout the offensive zone, but was unable to get any of his trademark blazing end to end rushes going.

 

[Devil X]

Im comfortable with this pick. I mean the first 10 couldn't have been any worse for us really.

But this kids got speed, hockey sense, he is good on all special teams, wins faceoffs, pushes play, and a high motor. His shot can use work but overall its a pretty safe pick. You end up with a very good playmaking center who might find is shot or you end up with a very good 3rd line center with a ton of speed and great work ethic.

I believe Zacha can become a center in the NHL at some point and I think we are in pretty good shape with a future of Zacha and McLeod down the middle.

 

[mtnet]

I'm not going to feel down on the pick, much too early anyway
Maybe a tad surprised, but not down

Rather I'm way more disappointed picks didn't go our way ahead of the pick itself

Going in it seemed more likely than not that the presumed favorites for us would be just out of reach given our draft position

 

[devilsblood]

Prior to the drat I was s influenced by the anti Mcleod sentiment that has been pushed on this board.

But his highlights were as good as I've seen and his scouting report backs it up.

I would have liked Brown, but as noted, maybe did not fit the system as much. Cool with the pick.

 

[devilsblood]

And I just saw we got a 3rd to drop down one pick. And Im assuming we were not that big on Brown. So Yeah, I'd say very well done.

 

[Cheddabombs]

At first I hated the pick, but I find that happens quite frequently so that's probably just because the few names I had in mind werent the guys we got. But that's because it was a miserable top 10 from our perspective, everything went wrong. So given that context I've warmed up to McLeod. His speed is remarkable and it seems like he'll fit into this new team dynamic their building up perfectly. I had high hopes that we could land a home run. This may be the next best thing.

 

[MadDevil]

If Brown was clearly a better prospect than McLeod, I'd be upset. But they're close enough to where I'd rather have McLeod + the 3rd that could (and likely will be) used in another trade than to just have Brown.

 

[RangerDoggo]

I'm excited about his zone entry stats, we have lacked guys that can gain the zone for a while

It feels like we didn't have one for all of last season. I hope he's NHL ready soon.

 

[Cheddabombs]

If Brown was clearly a better prospect than McLeod, I'd be upset. But they're close enough to where I'd rather have McLeod + the 3rd that could (and likely will be) used in another trade than to just have Brown.

For the most part I think its his speed that separated him from Brown. Just look at the guys they drafted last year and the guys coming up from drafts prior. For the most part they all have that attribute in common, being good skaters.

Just watched his highlights and he's faster than I thought, definitely have to catch a live game of his this season.

 

[Marshal Rochambeau]

For the most part I think its his speed that separated him from Brown. Just look at the guys they drafted last year and the guys coming up from drafts prior. For the most part they all have that attribute in common, being good skaters.

Just watched his highlights and he's faster than I thought, definitely have to catch a live game of his this season.

I've read upside in the 50-60 points range and a floor of a 3C.

The kid seems to have plenty of sense for offense. He just has a poor shot and needs to slow down his game some.

It is a glorious thing to have a kid who actually needs to slow his game down for a change.

Once he hits 200 lbs of muscle he will manhandle defensemen.

 

[Tretyak 20]

I'm still lukewarm on the pick, but having gone back and watched tape of the kid, what I could potentially see is a bigger Scott Gomez. Above average two-way Center who can rush the puck like nobody's business but doesn't have the greatest shot and is more of a playmaker. Considering all the guys I really wanted were gone, I think we could have done much worse.

 

[mike30]

i think brown was the better pick, but if we use that 3rd to somehow get yak, it will be great for us.

 

[Emperoreddy]

For the most part I think its his speed that separated him from Brown. Just look at the guys they drafted last year and the guys coming up from drafts prior. For the most part they all have that attribute in common, being good skaters.

Just watched his highlights and he's faster than I thought, definitely have to catch a live game of his this season.

I think Brown has a higher chance to bust out IMO, but overall they are pretty similar at this point.

McLeod definitely fits better with what we want (lots of speed).

 

[Devil X]

Could be fun to see Wood McLeod Blandisi streaking down the nice at prospect camp and regular camp for a week or so.

 

[Devils Army]

It will also be nice cause he can win faceoffs, and no one other than Zajac can win any

 

[Sgt Brylin]

Center depth is a wonderful thing to have. When you know you have another guy who can come in and take the draw you can be more aggressive.

I think next year starts out with

Henrique
Zajac
Zacha

Down the middle, though in the future I fully expect it to be Zacha and McLeod as our main pivots. They're both big and they have great two-way games, too. Sounds like a good recipe for puck possession.

If our C depth in three years is Zacha-McLeod-Quenneville-Pietila (provided they all pan out at NHL level and don't become Yayo 2.0), I think we could be a lot worse off.

 

[Brock]

Some additional information for you on McLeod

My final scouting report on him (where I ranked him 7th among OHL players available).
http://ohlprospects.blogspot.ca/2016/05/my-final-top-50-ohl-players-for-2016_20.html

Some notes/comments from my annual media/scout poll where he was also ranked 7th.
http://ohlprospects.blogspot.ca/2016/06/final-mediascout-top-10-for-2016.html